


Fairly Take And Fairly Give

by MaliceManaged



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Attempted Murder, Because of Reasons, Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, F/M, Frigga Knows Things, Frigga Lives, I love that tag, Imprisonment, Loki Gets a Hug, Loki Needs a Hug, Odin's A+ Parenting, Protective Loki, Psychic Bond, Sneaky Frigga, Some People Need To Get Out Of The Dark Ages, Tags may be added, Witch Hunt, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 05:21:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6787090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceManaged/pseuds/MaliceManaged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her neighbours decide she shouldn't be allowed to live any longer, Rowan finds herself in a very dangerous situation, only to wake up safe and sound in the company of someone she wasn't entirely sure was real...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had a really unpleasant dream that ended surprisingly well for a change, and decided to turn it into a story.

    The last thing Rowan remembered was smoke and oppressive heat and choking; so, understandably, it came as quite a surprise for her to wake up in what felt like a rather comfortable bed and cool surroundings. She tried to open her eyes, but found she didn’t really have the energy to do so, so she tried to use her other senses to determine where she was. It was quiet save for the approaching and departing of footfalls somewhere nearby at regular intervals and closer to her left she could hear someone’s steady breathing and the occasional rustling of a turning page, but it didn’t smell sterile like a hospital, so clearly that wasn’t it.

 

    Not that she could imagine why anyone would take her to a hospital after trying to kill her; she didn’t really think her so-called neighbours were quite _that_ sadistic.

 

    She tried to move but found that she was quite sore all over and let out a barely audible moan of discomfort, causing whoever was reading beside her to pause halfway through turning another page.

 

    “I wouldn’t try to move just yet,” A man’s voice, deep and smooth, spoke in concern, “You’re still recovering; I’m afraid I’m not much of a healer.”

 

    As soon as the words began, Rowan tried again to open her eyes, slowly succeeding after a few failures. She recognised that voice. She _should;_ given the fact that she’d been speaking to it for the past ten years. When her brown eyes were finally open she slowly turned her head in the voice’s direction, and as she did Loki frowned.

 

    “What did I _just_ say?” He scolded before standing up and walking over to the bed.

 

    “What’d you expect?” Rowan retorted softly, her voice somewhat hoarse from the smoke she’d inhaled, “Not every day a girl meets the voice in her head.”

 

    “You’ll have plenty of time to ogle later; now, sleep.” Loki replied before reaching over and touching her forehead, putting her to sleep with a simple spell.

 

 

    When Rowan awoke again, she felt more rested and significantly less sore, though her head felt a little fuzzy as though she’d been sedated. Which was technically true. She opened her eyes, brushing her short black hair off her tan face, and then looked around the room she was in for the first time, only to realise it was less of a room and more of a cell.

 

    _Well,_ someone _has some explaining to do,_ Rowan thought to herself as her eyes landed on that someone’s back. Loki was speaking to someone she couldn’t quite see in somewhat hushed tones, probably so as not to wake her.

 

    “Well, what exactly was I supposed to do; let her burn to death?” Loki said somewhere between defensive and challengingly, “You’re the one who keeps saying I need to be more compassionate.”

 

    “So you bring her _here,_ of all places?” A woman’s voice replied, sounding concerned and a little exasperated, as though this had been going on for a while.

 

    “ _I_ didn’t bring her; she brought herself,” Loki replied matter-of-factly, “ _My_ seidr is confined in this cell, remember?”

 

    “Loki...” The woman began scoldingly before she noticed Rowan was awake as she slowly sat up.

 

    Loki noticed then turned around to face Rowan and frowned. “Can’t you ever do as you’re told?” He said disapprovingly, crossing his arms at his chest.

 

    “Says the man in the cell,” Rowan retorted with an arched eyebrow, “I doubt you’re here for good behaviour.”

 

    Behind him, Frigga failed to completely supress a chuckle, and Loki looked back at her with a look of slight betrayal before turning back to Rowan. “I’m not the one who almost _died_ recently.” He said pointedly.

 

    “Exactly; almost,” Rowan replied before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and facing them fully, “Now, I believe you were the one said you’d tell me who you were when we met face-to-face. Well; here we are...”

 

    “Actually; I said I _might,_ not that I _would.”_

 

    “Wow; you’re really going to be _that_ person?”

 

    “It doesn’t really matter who I am; you will not be staying here long,” Loki began, sounding annoyed, though Rowan had a feeling it wasn’t directed at her, and then turned to Frigga, “Will she, _mother?”_

 

    Frigga sighed, not missing the jab, and looked at Rowan. “There are many reasons why she shouldn’t,” She said then turned to Loki, “You can’t hide her forever, Loki; you know this.”

 

    “I never said I would.”

 

    Frigga thought for a moment before coming to a decision. “Three days,” She said, “More than that, I cannot give you.”

 

    “Then it’ll have to do.”

 

    “Hang on; don’t _I_ get a say in this?” Rowan spoke up indignantly.

 

    “Do you disagree?” Frigga asked.

 

    “What happens in three days?” Rowan asked back.

 

    “Likely you will be sent back home.” Frigga replied.

 

    “You mean the place that tried to _burn me at the stake,”_ Rowan said pointedly, crossing her arms at her chest, “Then what the hell was the point of saving my life?”

 

    “Yes, mother; what _was_ the point?” Loki added.

 

    Frigga sighed again, agreeing completely but not saying so aloud, before turning to Loki. “You can’t just _keep_ her, Loki; she is not a pet.”

 

    “I never said she was.” Loki replied, sounding offended at the suggestion.

 

    “Good,” Frigga said, “Then I will do what I can.”

 

    “For what?” Rowan and Loki asked almost at the same time.

 

    “Why; to convince Odin to let her stay, of course.” Frigga replied simply with a smile before the projection of her disappeared.

 

    There was silence for a while before Rowan spoke up. “Is she... always like that?” She asked a bit bemusedly.

 

    “Oh, you have no idea.” Loki replied, shaking his head, and then walked over and sat next to her on the bed.

 

    “So...” Rowan began, “What did you mean earlier, when you said I brought myself here?”

 

    “I meant exactly that,” Loki replied, “I didn’t bring you here, Rowan; I _can’t_. You did that on your own.”

 

    “I’m pretty sure if I could teleport, I wouldn’t have been living in that backwards town,” Rowan said sceptically, “Let alone long enough for them to decide to finally do something about what I am.”

 

    “I never said you did it on purpose,” Loki replied a little exasperatedly, “We all have an instinctive need to survive; you’d be surprised what you could do to achieve it.”

 

    “Okay, so say I _can_ teleport,” Rowan relented, “Why would I bring myself _here?”_

 

    “Why _not_ here?” Loki replied indignantly, “Have I not helped you enough over the years to mean something?”

 

    “Loki, up until two minutes ago I didn’t even know your _name_ , and I was sixty percent sure you weren’t even _real.”_

 

    “Clearly you were sure enough to use me for an anchor.” Loki pointed out almost smugly with a smirk.

 

    Rowan scoffed. “Okay, so maybe I _did_ think about you,” She admitted, “I was about to _burn alive;_ there were a lot of things on my mind, mostly centred on how badly I wanted to _not die.”_

 

    Loki’s smirk faded as he recalled the state she’d been in when she appeared in his cell. “It’s a good thing you did,” He said seriously, “I’m not certain anyone else would have been able to save you.”

 

    “Was it really that bad?” Rowan asked softly, “I remember heat, and fear, and pain, but it’s all kind of blurry.” The look on Loki’s face told her all she needed to know, and she figured she was better off not remembering the details; instead she moved closer to him and hugged him. “Thanks.” She murmured.

 

    “You’re welcome.” Loki murmured back as he returned the embrace.

 

 

    The rest of that first day was spent with Rowan pointedly insisting that Loki keep his not-quite-promise to tell her about himself until he finally gave in just to escape her pestering. He left out some details he didn’t think she needed to know, but was otherwise honest, figuring she deserved that much considering he knew practically everything about _her_ life. There was bit of tension when he reached his attempt to destroy Jötunheim but in the end, while he could see that she in _no way_ agreed with the action, she did accept that his reasoning at the time was not necessarily the most stable. She was a little more understanding of his part in the invasion of New York once he told her what he’d gone through before that, although he left out most of the details, not wanting to give her nightmares. He then went on to tell her of how he helped Thor against the dark elves and had nearly gotten killed for his efforts (“Not that anyone cares to remember _that.”_ He pointed out bitterly), which, twelve years of damn near nothing to keep him from losing his mind out of sheer boredom later, brought them to when they had ‘met’.

 

    “And, well; that’s all there is to tell,” Loki finished, “The rest of these past years have gone on much the same as those after I was returned here, except that now I actually had something to look forward to every day.”

 

    “You make it sound like I was the only thing that made waking up every morning worth it.” Rowan said half-jokingly.

 

    “You were.” Loki replied with absolute seriousness.

 

    “... Oh.” Rowan managed quietly after a moment.


	2. Chapter 2

    When it came time to sleep there was a bit of awkwardness, as there was only the one bed, even if it was quite big; Rowan wasn’t all that comfortable with the idea of sharing, while for Loki it was clearly a non-issue. In the end tiredness won out and she simply resolved to keep as much distance between them as possible; which was why she was a bit surprised upon waking to find herself practically on top of him. She quickly sat up and moved to the other end of the bed before looking at him almost accusingly.

 

    “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Rowan; that wasn’t my doing,” He said amusedly as he sat up and stretched, “You moved in your sleep and almost fell off the bed; all _I_ did was prevent that, the rest was all you.”

 

    Rowan glared at him suspiciously for a moment before relenting with a sigh. She knew for a fact that she could be a pretty restless sleeper, having been painfully woken up from falling to the floor more than once as a result; it wasn’t exactly implausible that that was what happened here. And she wouldn’t know if she was prone to clinginess in her sleep, as she’d never had the occasion to find out.

 

    “Fine,” She finally said, brushing her hair back and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, “But next time; just let me fall.”

 

    Loki pretended to give it some thought. “Hmm... no.” He replied simply then stood, went to the table where their breakfast was waiting and sat down on one of the chairs.

 

    Why there even _were_ two chairs in a one-person cell when Loki had quite plainly told her that he never had visitors in there besides his mother’s occasional astral projections was beyond her, but she wasn’t about to complain as she got out of bed and joined him. They had little in the way of conversation as they ate besides Loki inquiring how she was feeling, but it wasn’t really an uncomfortable silence.

 

    “This feels kind of weird.” Rowan said after they finished their meal.

 

    “What does?” Loki asked curiously.

 

    “Actually... talking to you, like... aloud and face-to-face,” Rowan explained, gesturing vaguely between them, “After all this time, it’s just... I don’t know... odd.”

 

    “I’ll admit, it does feel a bit odd,” Loki agreed, “And you’re not quite what I expected.”

 

    “Story of my life.” Rowan said with a somewhat sad smile, looking away.

 

    Loki frowned slightly, realising his words were rather poorly chosen, and then reached over to grasp Rowan’s chin and turned her face back towards his. “I meant that I didn’t really expect you to be this beautiful.” He clarified, earning a smile and a light blush.

 

 

    Later, they sat on the floor across each other on opposite corners of the cell, watching the guards go about their rounds.

 

    “So, they can’t see or hear me at all?” Rowan asked as one walked right in front of her without so much as a glance into the cell.

 

    “No; all they would see if they looked would be me going about my days as usual,” Loki replied then smirked, “But they won’t look. Not after what I did last time...”

 

    Rowan stared at him oddly then shook her head. “I don’t wanna know.” She concluded with a slight laugh. “Doesn’t it tire you, though; keeping the illusion going for this long?” She asked curiously.

 

    “I have a considerable amount of power, Rowan; this,” He replied, gesturing to their surroundings, “Is nothing to me.”

 

    “Show off.” Rowan said with an amused scoff and he grinned in response.

 

    There was silence for a while as they watched the guards go back and forth. “Do you remember when you told me you loved me?” Loki asked, looking towards her, “I believe it was eight years ago.”

 

    Rowan thought for a moment then seemed to remember something. “I was nineteen, Loki,” She replied with a laugh, “I was alone, and I had just set the entire neighbourhood’s sprinkler system off at two in the morning; I would’ve said that to _anyone_ who calmed me down.”

 

    “I know; that wasn’t the point I was trying to make,” Loki replied with a laugh of his own.

 

    “Well, go on then.”

 

    “Do you remember how I was quiet for a while after that?”

 

    Rowan nodded. “I thought you’d gone away.”

 

    “I hadn’t. I wouldn’t,” Loki replied before standing up, walking across the cell and sitting down in front of her, “It might have been simply gratitude on your part, and part of me knew that, but that was the moment I realised just how important you’d become to me.” He reached forward and took her hands in his. “I hadn’t heard those words directed at me for so long from anyone other than mother and occasionally Thor; I was quite convinced I never would again,” He said then leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers, “The reality is, my lovely witch, that I have grown more and more hopelessly in love with you over the years.”

 

    “All that from three words?” Rowan asked quietly with a slight laugh.

 

    “All that,” Loki replied with a slight laugh of his own before looking deeply into her eyes almost nervously, “May I kiss you?”

 

    “Please do.” Rowan replied barely above a whisper.

 

    And so he did; tightening his hold on her hands slightly, he closed what distance was left between them and pressed his lips to hers softly, giving her the opportunity to change her mind. Instead, Rowan shyly pressed back after a moment, her eyes fluttering shut.

 

 

    After lunch Rowan decided to take a nap, as her body was quite insistent in reminding her it was still recovering, so Loki simply made himself comfortable next to her and resolved to pass the time reading. Which worked out fine, until he was distracted by a fearful whimper coming from the sleeping woman beside him. He set the book aside and leaned over her, brushing her hair out of her face, and began to whisper reassurances into her ear until she seemed to calm down.

 

    “Brother.” Thor spoke from behind them, and Loki just barely managed to suppress an annoyed groan.

 

    He hadn’t even heard him coming, so focused he’d been. The illusion he’d cast sighed and slowly looked up from the book in his hands. “What?” He drawled out in a bored tone.

 

    Thor frowned slightly. “I thought we were past this, Loki.” He said, referring to the illusion.

 

    “I changed my mind,” Loki replied with a shrug, “I do that on occasion. Now what do you want?”

 

    “Do I need to want something to visit my own brother?”

 

    “That _is_ a want in and of itself.”

 

    Thor rolled his eyes. “Must you always pick apart my every word?”

 

    “Yes,” Loki replied simply, “It’s one of my favourite hobbies, actually.”

 

    Thor looked down, unable to fully suppress a laugh, before looking back at Loki’s illusion. “How are you, brother?” He asked.

 

    “Confined,” Loki deadpanned and Thor buried his face in his palm with a sigh, “I’m not sure what you expect me to say, Thor. I’ve been in here for over twenty years; do you expect me to be happy?”

 

    “That would rather defeat the purpose of a punishment,” Thor replied, “But you know perfectly well that this is your own doing.”

 

     “I’m not the one that decided it would be alright to lie to me my entire life.” Loki retorted sharply.

 

    “You can’t blame father for everything; it was _your_ choice to try to destroy Jötunheim, _your_ choice to send the Destroyer to attack me on Midgard, _your_ choice to let yourself fall off the bridge,” Thor said in a steadily rising voice before pausing and taking a deep breath, “ _You_ let go.”

 

    “And you hate me for it.” Loki added emotionlessly.

 

    Thor was quiet for a long while. “For that?” He began softly, “Yes.”

 

    “... You’re not the only one,” Loki replied then dispelled most of the illusion save for the bit that was hiding Rowan and stood from the bed, walking over to stand before Thor and looking him in the eyes, “Regardless of everything else that happened before or after; I haven’t forgiven myself for that.”

 

    “I’m convinced neither of us ever will,” Thor said, “But I, at least, have forgiven most everything else.”

 

    “‘Most’?” Loki asked curiously.

 

    “You _did_ throw me out of an aircraft at over thirty thousand feet,” Thor replied with a half-smile, “A bit hard to get past, that.”

 

    Loki let out a laugh. “I’m not apologising for that, brother; you really should have seen it coming,” He said with a grin, “How many times have I used that exact same trick on you?”

 

    “I had other things on my mind.” Thor grumbled defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

    “Of course,” Loki teased, “I forget you’re not very good at multitasking. My mistake.” Thor glared at him, but Loki merely grinned again and he relented and chuckled, shaking his head. “To answer your question,” Loki said after a moment, “I’m... better. Today, at least.”

 

    “Does it have anything to do with whatever you’re still hiding in there?” Thor asked knowingly.

 

    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Loki replied smoothly.

 

    “Of course not,” Thor said, rolling his eyes, “I should go; I have something I really should be doing.”

 

    “Well, look who’s taken a liking to rule-breaking.” Loki said amusedly.

 

    Thor merely laughed then said his farewells and left, leaving Loki to turn around and face an awake and amused looking Rowan.

 

    “Well, that was... _interesting_ to witness.” She said after a moment, causing Loki to chuckle as he walked over and sat down beside her.


	3. Chapter 3

    Rowan could barely breathe with how hard she was laughing, holding her sides tightly and trying to keep from falling off her seat; Loki had been telling her about pranks he had pulled on Thor when they were children, and each story was funnier than the last. They also made her admire Thor’s self-restraint; anyone else probably would have murdered Loki for more than half of them.

 

    Rowan finally managed to calm her laughter after a while and took a few deep breaths. “How are you still alive?” She asked amusedly.

 

    “I’m good at hiding, and Thor’s an idiot,” Loki replied easily with a shrug, “Besides which, mother never would have let him kill me; it would have deprived her of her favourite toy.”

 

    “Ah, of course,” Rowan said with a slight giggle, “Couldn’t have _that_ happening.”

 

    “I like to think I was not _that_ overbearing,” Frigga spoke up from besides them, startling them slightly, “Was I?”

 

    “... I am not answering that.” Loki replied.

 

    “Smart.” Rowan said with a nod.

 

    “Hmm; I don’t recall you complaining at the time.” Frigga said with a smile.

 

    “I valued my continued existence, thank you.” Loki replied, causing both women to laugh a bit.

 

    “I have spoken to Odin in regards to letting you stay,” Frigga told Rowan, “But he wishes to meet you before making a decision.”

 

    “Makes sense,” Rowan replied, “When exactly is this happening?”

 

    “Now, apparently.” Loki said, watching as Odin approached the cell with Frigga and Thor on either side of him.

 

    Frigga’s projection vanished and Loki stood, letting the illusion fade to reveal them both and offering Rowan his hand to help her stand. Once they were on their feet they walked to one of the cell’s barriers, just as the others reached it.

 

    “Oh, so you _do_ know where the dungeon is, after all,” Loki commented to Odin, “I wondered.”

 

    Thor let out a sigh and Frigga sent Loki a _look_ , while Odin seemed completely unfazed, having expected a jab of some sort long before Loki even opened his mouth.

 

    _Loki, maybe antagonising the guy who has the final say in this isn’t the best of ideas,_ Rowan thought to Loki.

 

    _Force of habit,_ Loki thought back.

 

    _Well, stop it,_ Rowan scolded.

 

    _Yes, mother,_ Loki retorted sarcastically and Rowan slapped his arm, earning odd looks from the others.

 

    “So, this is the mortal my wife is so smitten with?” Odin said, eyeing Rowan up and down.

 

    _‘Smitten’? We talked for, like, five minutes,_ Rowan thought to Loki.

 

    _She only needs two,_ Loki thought back amusedly.

 

    “Tell me,” Odin continued, “How did you get in there?”

 

    “I have an aversion to flames, and can apparently teleport,” Rowan replied.

 

    “Flames?” Thor asked curiously.

 

    “My _oh, so tolerant_ neighbours thought it was acceptable to try to burn me to death,” Rowan replied with mock cheeriness, “Lovely bunch, them, but they didn’t seem to be aware that burning witches hasn’t been legal for a _very long_ time.”

 

    “I... see,” Thor said, clearly disturbed, “That’s... unpleasant.”

 

    “It takes a considerable amount of power to travel between the realms,” Odin began, “Even more to get past all the wards surrounding that cell.”

 

    “I’m really not that powerful; I borrowed most of it.” Rowan replied with a slightly nervous laugh.

 

    “Borrowed? From where?” Odin asked.

 

    “The environment, mostly,” Rowan replied, “I’m good at channelling.”

 

    “And the rest?” Odin pressed.

 

    “People,” Rowan replied with a slight shrug, “Everyone has energy you can use if you know what you’re doing.” She blinked, apparently realising something. “Which is... actually really dangerous if done carelessly,” She added, sounding worried, and raised her hand to her lips, “I hope I didn’t kill anyone.”

 

    “You _do_ remember they were trying to kill _you_ , right?” Loki pointed out.

 

    “Yeah, well, unlike them; _I’m_ not a homicidal lunatic.” Rowan retorted, looking up at him.

 

    “You still would have been within your rights to defend yourself,” Odin said, causing them to look back at him, “I’m curious as to why you did not.”

 

    “I don’t believe in hurting people,” Rowan replied simply then frowned slightly, “I didn’t really think they’d go that far, honestly. I mean, they never _liked_ me, but I didn’t think they would actually try to _kill_ me.”

 

    “Why did you not leave?” Odin asked, “You were clearly not welcome; would you not have been happier elsewhere?”

 

    “Probably,” Rowan scoffed, “My mom was sick, and taking care of her wasn’t exactly cheap; after she died, I simply couldn’t afford to move.”

 

    “I see,” Odin said with a nod, “Why here? You could have gone anywhere else; why did you choose _this_ place?”

 

    “Because when I realised I was going to die, I realised I was never going to meet Loki in person,” Rowan replied, looking at Loki for a moment, “I must have latched onto that thought when I took myself away from the fire.”

 

    “You have known each other long, then?” Odin asked.

 

    “Ten years,” Rowan replied with a nod, “We have a telepathic bond.”

 

    _Which you probably should not have told him about,_ Loki thought to her pointedly.

 

    _Do you_ really _think he wouldn’t have found out?_ Rowan thought back.

 

    “I see,” Odin said then looked thoughtful for a moment, “You realise I cannot simply allow you to remain in that cell, do you not? You’ve not done anything to merit it.”

 

    “I kinda figured, yeah.” Rowan replied.

 

    “I can, however, allow you to visit,” Odin added, “With certain restrictions, of course.”

 

    _And_ there _it is,_ Loki thought to Rowan.

 

    _Hush; we don’t even know what they are yet,_ Rowan thought back.

 

    “What kind of restrictions?” Rowan asked.

 

    “You will be required to be under guard,” Odin replied, “And your seidr is to be bound.”

 

    “Absolutely _not!”_ Loki said immediately.

 

    “I will not have her aiding your escape!” Odin snapped shortly.

 

    “Hang on; what makes you think I’d let him out?” Rowan interrupted.

 

    “I’m more surprised you have not already.” Odin replied.

 

    “Probably because I _can’t,”_ Rowan said slowly, “I told you; I’m not that powerful.”

 

    “But Loki is,” Odin countered, “And you have admitted to being able to borrow power from another.”

 

    _Dear Lady; no wonder you snapped,_ Rowan thought to Loki exasperatedly, using all her willpower to refrain from rolling her eyes. A corner of Loki’s mouth twitched upwards slightly, but otherwise he didn’t react.

 

    “And we’re going to gloss over the part where I said how _dangerous_ that was?” Rowan said, fighting to keep her voice level.

 

    “As have been many of Loki’s plans.” Odin replied somewhat dismissively.

 

    “Oh, for goodness sake; fine!” Rowan cried out, throwing her hands up in exasperation, “This is clearly going nowhere. If it means that much to you; fine. Bind my magick. I don’t care!”

 

    “On the condition that Thor be the one to escort her.” Loki quickly added.

 

    “You are in no position to make demands.” Odin replied.

 

    “I don’t mind,” Thor chimed in, “In fact; I’d be happy to.”

 

    Odin thought it over for a moment. “Very well,” He decided, “But if you are to remain in this realm; you must find your place within its society.”

 

    “Leave _that_ to me,” Frigga spoke up, having clearly thought about that before.

 

    With that, Odin left with Frigga close behind, leaving the three of them to breathe in relief.

 

    “Well; that went better than I expected.” Thor said after a moment.

 

    “Just wait; I’m sure he’ll come up with several ways to make it worse before the week is out.” Loki replied bitterly.

 

    “You are just a ray of sunshine; you know that?” Rowan said sarcastically.

 

    “I’m merely being realistic.” Loki replied, glaring at her.

 

    “No; you’ve just convinced yourself that _everything_ that father does is to prolong your misery,” Thor said, rolling his eyes, before turning to Rowan, “Since father never said that you had to leave the cell now; I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

 

    “Thanks,” Rowan replied with a smile that he returned before leaving.

 

    As soon as Thor was gone, Loki wrapped an arm around Rowan’s waist and pulled her to him; crashing his lips upon hers in a needy kiss that she struggled to keep up with, though that didn’t keep her from trying as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lifted herself on her toes to reach him better. When they parted for air, they were both breathing heavily and her head was swimming a bit.

 

    Loki rested his forehead against hers. “I have no idea how long it will be until mother can convince Odin to either let me out or let you in,” He said, his gaze flicking to her lips momentarily, “But I suggest we make the most of these ten minutes we’ve been granted...”

 

    Rowan’s face turned completely scarlet, which he smirked at before lifting her up and easily carrying her to the bed; he hovered over her for a moment, cradling her cheek in his palm, before leaning down and locking their lips together again in a kiss she enthusiastically returned. She wasn’t entirely certain when his tongue came into play, but she _certainly_ wasn’t about to complain.

 

    After what felt like hours yet not nearly long enough, they heard Thor clear his throat outside the cell and then very reluctantly parted. Loki led Rowan to the edge of the cell then pulled her back to him for one final quick kiss before letting her go, not taking his eyes off of her until she and Thor rounded the staircase out of the dungeons.


	4. Chapter 4

    It wasn’t until a week later that Thor had the time and opportunity to take Rowan to visit Loki, but she didn’t mind so much, as she had used the time to explore the palace and grounds a bit with Loki’s guidance. They had discovered that the closer they were, the deeper their connection went, and now they could experience things the other did to a point if they focused enough; which gave Loki the first taste of fresh air he’d had in twenty years. The rush of pleasant feelings Rowan received after that made her determined to spend as much time outside as possible, not that she had any ideas of staying in her room much in the first place.

 

    The first time her magick was bound was in no way a pleasant experience, and Thor apologised several times before and after placing the cuffs on her. They made her feel extremely dizzy at first, so much so that she nearly collapsed, and afterwards she felt... disturbingly disconnected from her surroundings. She wasn’t used to not feeling the flow of energy and life of the world around her; she had known it her entire life. She was pretty sure she never _would_ get used to being cut off from it.

 

    “It’s temporary, elskr mín,” Loki reassured her when she stood before him outside the cell with Thor standing as far out of the way as he could get away with, “Mother cares for you; speak to her, and I’m sure she will do whatever she can to ensure you’re not put through this again.”

 

    “It’s fine; I’ll deal with it,” Rowan replied, not sounding very sure, “I just didn’t think it would feel this...”

 

    “Empty?” Loki supplied.

 

    “Yeah. That sounds about right,” Rowan said with a nod, “It’s like the world is _muted._ It sucks.”

 

    “It does.” Loki agreed with a sympathetic smile.

 

    Rowan stepped closer to the barrier, sitting down before it, and Loki joined her. “I don’t think I like this very much,” She said with a slight frown, raising her hand and holding it up to the barrier, careful to not actually touch it, “Being this close but... not.”

 

    “It was easier, wasn’t it?” Loki replied, “Being on separate realms.”

 

    “I don’t regret being here, though.” Rowan added.

 

    “Good,” Loki said with a rather conspiratorial half-smile. _Because they can’t hold me here forever,_ He added in her mind.

 

 

    As the months passed Rowan fell into a sort of routine; Thor tried his best to be able to take her to visit Loki at least once a week, sometimes even joining in (and Rowan would be lying to deny she liked to watch the two interact), and the rest of the time was spent either learning with Frigga (who had by now all but adopted her) or off on her own (relatively speaking) seeing as much of the realm as she could. It was fairly well known by the citizens of Asgard who she was and where she came from, though very few people knew how she’d actually arrived to the realm. There was a bit of tension at first, both because of her being human and her relationship with Loki, but most who managed to see past that when it became glaringly obvious the queen was so fond of her came to think she really wasn’t that bad before long.

 

    Those who didn’t simply knew better than to voice such opinions aloud.

 

    The morning that marked her first year on Asgard, Rowan awoke to a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She groaned and huffed and turned over, burying her face deeper into her pillow, and went right back to sleep. She hadn’t been sleeping for two minutes before the feeling woke her up again, and she turned over again with a huff of annoyance and went back to sleep. The feeling came again before long and this time she let out a frustrated sigh.

 

    _Loki; I’m trying to sleep,_ She thought tiredly.

 

    _Yes, I know; that’s why I’m trying to wake you,_ Loki thought back matter-of-factly.

 

    _What do you want?_ She asked then slowly cracked an eye open and looked out the window, _It’s not even dawn yet._

 

    _I know; it’s perfect,_ Loki replied, sounding almost giddy, _Now get up and get dressed._

_What the hell for?_ Rowan asked, clearly irritated.

 

    _You’ll see,_ Was all Loki replied before going silent.

 

    Rowan considered simply rolling over and going back to sleep, but ultimately decided against it; Loki had sounded excited about something and, as much as she still wanted to sleep, she was curious as to what it was. Sluggishly, she tossed the covers aside and crawled out of her bed before shuffling over to her bathroom, grabbing the dress she had laid out for herself the previous night along the way. Once bathed and dressed she lazily brushed her hair, which had grown out to some four or five inches past her shoulders but she simply hadn’t taken the time to cut it back to its usual length at her neck.

 

    _Alright, I’m up and dressed; now what do you want?_ She thought to Loki none-too-gently.

 

    _Come to the tower nearest the library,_ Loki instructed, ignoring her brusqueness.

 

    _What? You’re gonna make me go up_ stairs _at this hour?_ Rowan whined.

 

     _The longer you delay, the more you’ll have to hurry,_ Loki replied simply.

 

    _Ugh, fiiiine,_ Rowan groaned before leaving her chambers and beginning the rather long trek to the appointed tower.

 

    As she walked through the halls, yawning occasionally, the guards she passed by eyed her oddly but said nothing, guessing that whatever had her up at that hour likely had to do with Loki and knowing better than to ask. When she reached the entrance to the tower, Rowan took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself, and then began climbing up the seemingly endless stairs. Finally, she reached the top, quite out of breath, and she all but threw herself against the door and used her weight to open it.

 

    _This had better be-,_ Her thoughts ground to a halt midway as she looked into the room to see Loki standing there, grinning at her.

 

    “Good?” Loki finished the thought, “I’d like to think so.”

 

    All tiredness left Rowan in an instant and she ran to him and straight into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck tightly as though afraid he’d vanish if she let go. As they parted Loki went to say something, but she cut him off by crashing her lips against his, so he figured it could wait as he returned the kiss.

 

    “Not that I am in any way complaining, but... ?” Rowan asked when they parted.

 

    “Mother is very convincing.” Loki replied vaguely.

 

    “How long?” Rowan asked, biting her lip and bracing herself for the answer.

 

    “The rest of the day,” Loki replied, causing her to sigh softly in relief, and then led her over onto the balcony with a hand at the small of her back. “Now if it pleases you, dear lady,” He said, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, “I would like to greet my first morning outside in two decades with you.”

 

    “It does please me,” Rowan replied with a smile, placing her hands on top of his and entwining their fingers, “Very much.”

 

    They stood there watching as the sky lightened and the sun peeked over the horizon, tinting the sky with reds and oranges as it climbed higher and higher, simply basking in the moment. Afterwards, Loki led Rowan over to a table she hadn’t even noticed before, where breakfast was waiting for them, and they ate in peaceful silence.

 

 

    “So,” Rowan began as they walked towards one of the gardens, “I’m guessing there were restrictions?”

 

    “There are, yes,” Loki replied then pulled up the sleeve of his right arm a bit to reveal a band of runes written around his wrist, “It’s similar to midgardian house arrest; if I move beyond what I am allowed, all the guards are alerted. The same applies if I use my seidr.”

 

    “Huh; that’s... surprisingly reasonable.”

 

    “As I said; mother is very convincing.”

 

    “There’s more, though; isn’t there?”

 

    “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

 

    “Why do I _not_ believe that?”

 

    Instead of replying, Loki simply leaned down and kissed her temple, and Rowan let out a soft sigh of resignation even as she leaned into it.


End file.
